Ecology

For more than the last ten years, much has been done in the ¦l±skie Voivodeship in the scope of the environment and nature protection. The improvement in the environment quality is the result of the pro-ecological actions taken by the economic entities, self-governmental administration as well as by implementing the improvement plans, negotiated with the governmental administration, using the new technologies. 

The 1990s were the period of significant limitations in the amount of pollution given off to the environment as well as the intense actions taken for its improvement. The policy of introducing stricter requirements executed consistently in this period in relation to the environment pollution sources, the application of better quality fuels, restructuring process and the industry privatisation as well as limiting the production in the branches being the source of the highest pollution resulted in positive effects in the environment protection. The last years have been a further period of visible proofs indicating the maintenance of the advantageous trends. .

Air protection

• limiting the atmospheric pollution by c.a. 40,000. Mg/a of dust compounds and c.a. 130,000 Mg/a of coal dioxide
• limiting the so-called low emission (liquidation of 1,100 local coal boiler-houses)
• liquidation of the industry pollution “at its source” (the “pure production” technology implementation)

• decrease in dust emission by over 80%
• decrease in gas emission by over 50%.

• Dust pollution emission by 65.8%
• Sulphur dioxide emission by 53.2%
• NOx by 46.8%
• Carbon oxide by 23.6%.

• dust: 28.9
• gas (without CO2): 649.1 incl.:
• sulphur dioxide: 149.5
• coal oxide: 141.6
• nitrogen oxide: 73.5

Emission and reduction of the air industrial pollution (as per the section and divisions) 2003 - in thousands of tons:

• dust: 28.9
• gas: 394.7

Water protection

• the establishment of the Regional Environment Protection and Water Management Fund in 1993
• executing the land reclamation works within the framework of flood consequences and works over the flood protection
• works execution under the so-called small retention (water resources management through drainage areas)
• building 930 km of sewage collectors and building and modernising 143 waste-water treatment plants
• obtaining the financing from the European programs (ISPA) for the execution of the tasks in the sphere of the water & sewage management

The number of waste water requiring treatment and drained to surface water decreased between 1995 and 2001 by 21%. The amount of waste water decreased by 66%, while simultaneously increasing the share of treated waste water to greater extent, i.e. biologically and with increased biogenes removal from 44% in 1995 to 46% in 2001.

The population using waste-water treatment plants in % of the total population
Data for 2003: 64.8 %

The growth in the number of the municipal waste-water treatment plants
Data for 2003: 214

Industrial and municipal sewage drained to waters or to the ground (in hm³)

Soil protection

• developing the methods for brown field areas regeneration
• successive limitation of the ground surface pollution
• degraded land reclamation
• non-agricultural land foresting

Waste management

• developing the Waste Management Plan for the ¦l±skie Voivodeship
• successive recycling of packages and managing other industrial and municipal waste under the Regional Waste System
  

• introducing fees for using the environment and penalties for its contamination
• integrating the heat-generating system as well as the works over the renewable energy sources (8 boroughs and poviats within the non-industrial areas) and alternative sources
• noise levelling for the inhabitants and natural environment
• arranging the town building structure and restoring the monuments    
• participating in the EU “Nature 2000” program (nature protection in the ¦l±skie Voivodeship)